Producer Interview: Tomppabeats

June 2018By neonpajamas

Tomppabeats is a mandatory name to include when discussing the current world of beat makers. The Helsinki artist has impacted and influenced the producer game in powerful ways and his international following has led to successes with Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Spotify, and eventually vinyl. He has a plethora of beats to pull from, including his 2016 LPHarboras well as his sophomore full-length,Arcade, which dropped back in December. With instrumentals dating back to 2013, Tomppabeats has been evolving and progressing every step of the way. Following his Chillhop Hosted Reddit AMA from last week, we figured we’d follow up the Q+A by asking Tomppabeats a few questions about his craft, his upcoming genre projects, and the reason he’s no longer on Twitter.

You released Arcade at the end of 2017. How has 2018 been treating you?

Getting better, it’s been a weird beginning of a year.

Are you currently located in Finland or are you abroad?

Yeah, I’m still living in Helsinki. I’ve been traveling a lot lately though.

What have you been working on since releasing your LP?

Nothing and everything [laughs], mostly started new projects with friends and focusing on my real life for a while. I haven’t really been making beats in a while. I’m hoping to make the EPs this summer for the techno and punk project at least, but we will see what happens.

Was that be your first AMA?

Yeah, I’m pretty sure, people usually don’t ask me stuff ’cause they know I don’t have anything smart to say.

What’s the weirdest question a fan has asked you?

Nothing notoriously weird, it’s usually how they act around you that is the weirdest. Usually they just ask for a photo with you. I’ve had fair share of people come talk to me and try to shake my hand while I’m using the urinal.

What’s the last good album you listened to? The last good movie you watched?

Invention by Daedelus and Eraserhead by David Lynch.

You went ghost on Twitter. Can you explain your reasoning?

Twitter just bummed me out! [laughs] I just didn’t like how people act in there and how it made me act. I was tired of starting to hate people I really liked before ’cause people kinda show a bad side on there you know. I like Instagram cause I can share my dumb photos on there and people don’t bum me out so it’s a win/win! It’s always good to step out of the internet and focus on real life for a moment and appreciate the people around you.

In regards to music platforms, you’ve had success on Bandcamp and YouTube and Spotify and SoundCloud. Do you have a preferred channel to reach an audience?

Only place I’ve ever ”tried” to reach an audience has always been SoundCloud and Bandcamp, that’s where I got my beginnings and that’s probably where I’ll be staying after all blows over. I can’t be bothered to learn how the Spotify playlist algorithms work and all that so everything else has just been natural highs and lows.

Do you have any advice for producers working on their craft?

Fail at things and write about stuff you’ve never experienced before.

Any final words / thoughts / shout-outs?

I’ll be in LA late this month and will be playing a super small show so keep your ears open for that ’cause it’s gonna be limited [laughs]. Love my friends and family!

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